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You may be due to claim UK tax back if:

You are a non-UK national

You have left the UK

You were short-term employed in the UK

You incurred work-related expenses

You didn’t work a full tax year

You were made redundant

You were on an emergency tax code

Estimate your UK Tax Refund now

One in three people who pay tax in the UK are entitled to a tax refund. If you’ve been working in the UK, you may be entitled to claim a UK tax rebate.

UK Backpackers Tax Refunds

Are you a backpacker working in the UK? If so, you could be due a UK tax refund.

While you were in the UK, if you worked or are working for an UK employer (full time or part time) and this employment did/does not last for an entire UK tax year (6 April to 5 April), you probably had too much tax deducted from your wages.

A few examples of when you could be entitled to a UK tax refund are:

You arrived in the UK part way through a UK tax year and you leave before the end of that tax year- e.g. you arrived in the UK on 1 May 2016 and left on 31 December 2016.

You have or had more than one job in the same UK tax year.

You were made redundant

You were already present in the UK at the start of a tax year and you left the UK before the end of that tax year

It is not only backpackers from outside the UK coming to work in the UK that can pay too much tax on their employment income. An overpayment of tax often occurs for UK Nationals (and long term UK residents) that leave, or return to, the UK after being abroad.

If you plan to leave or have returned to the UK during the tax year and you have had any amount of UK employment income, then please contact us so we can tell you for free if you're due a UK tax rebate.

Once you have an estimation of what you're owed, we can apply for this tax refund on your behalf.

UK Backpacker FAQ

?When does the UK tax year start?

The UK tax year runs from April 6th to April 5th of the following year.

?What is PAYE?

PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn. In the UK, PAYE is a method of collecting tax directly from employees’ wages so they don’t have to file a tax return themselves. Many temporary workers in the UK are PAYE workers.

?How does the UK PAYE system work?

1. HMRC sends your employer a Coding Notice which tells your employer how much to tax you. 2. Your employer deducts the tax and pays it to HMRC. The amount deducted is shown on your payslip.

?I have just arrived in the UK. What do I need to do to get registered for UK tax?

The first thing you’ll need is a NIN (National Insurance Number). This is a unique tracker that the UK tax office (HMRC) will use to keep track of your PAYE and National Insurance Contributions.Taxback.com can apply for a NIN for you.

?I’ve been working in the UK temporarily. Will I get a PAYE refund?

You could be due to claim back a UK tax refund in any of the following situations:

You started working during the tax year

You stopped working mid way through a tax year

You had a break in employment

You incurred expenses which are allowable against your employment income

You were taxed incorrectly or on an emergency tax code

You worked in more than one job.

As a lot of backpackers in the UK work less than a full year, they can often be due a UK tax rebate. The amount tax you get back depends upon your individual circumstances – we can check everything for you once you register.

?What is an emergency tax code?

An emergency tax code is a code that your employer or pension provider uses on a temporary basis until HMRC has enough information about your income to enable HMRC to send them (and you) your correct code. It normally makes sure that you get the basic Personal Allowance (and therefore some tax-free pay) but doesn't take into account any other allowances or reliefs you may be entitled to. Your employer or pension provider will normally keep using it until HMRC tells them what your correct tax code should be.

?What UK tax forms do I need to be aware of?

You should be aware of the following forms:

P46: Issued to employees by employer when they start work and they have no P45 from a former employment;

P45: Issued to an employee by the employer when the employee leaves that employment.

P60: Issued to an employee by the employer at the end of a tax year. It is a summary of pay, tax deducted and National Insurance deducted.

P11D: Issued to the employee by the employer at the end of the tax year. It reports all Benefits in Kind the employee has received during the tax year.

P85: Can be found online. Completed by the taxpayer to advise HMRC that they are leaving/have left the UK.

As a temporary worker in the UK, you should keep all your forms so we can make sure to get you the maximum legal tax refund possible.

?How far back can I claim a refund?

Tax year

Tax year ended on

You must claim by

2013-14

5 April 2014

5 April 2018

2014-15

5 April 2015

5 April 2019

2015-16

5 April 2016

5 April 2020

2016-17

5 April 2017

5 April 2021

2017-18

5 April 2018

5 April 2022

?What documents do I need to claim a refund?

You should keep any documents you receive from your employer (P45, P60, P11D) as these are required to file your claim. If you are claiming for tax-deductible expenses then you should keep sufficient records to satisfy HMRC if it decides to carry out an audit on your file.

?I'm leaving the UK – can I claim a PAYE refund upon departure?

If you are leaving the country during a financial year and either won't be working again in that financial year or are leaving the UK permanently or indefinitely then yes you can claim a refund from HMRC upon departure and won't have to wait until the end of the tax year.

If you are leaving temporarily and will be working elsewhere in the tax year that you leave e.g. if you go to Australia on a working holiday visa, then you will most likely have to wait until the end of the tax year to claim a tax refund. It will all depend on your exact circumstances but we can check this out for you and let you know.

The average UK tax refund for backpackers in the UK is £963

If you’ve worked temporarily in the UK, there’s a good chance you are due a tax rebate. Some of the reasons why you might be due to claim UK tax back are that you only worked part of the year or perhaps you worked part-time. We will examine your individual circumstances to make sure that you get back all the UK tax that you are entitled to. The average UK tax rebate for backpackers is £963 so you could very easily pay for your next trip!

We provide tax refunds from 12 countries

TAXBACK.COM Reviews & Feedback

Customer Corner

27 February 2019

Rebecca Colcloughrebecc

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22 February 2019

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Straight forward and good service from agents

20 February 2019

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My agent was very helpful , efficient and professional .

14 February 2019

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So fast easy and reliable. They do all the work and handle everything with ease. They just took the info I provided and got back to me with a larger then expected figure of tax back. Couldn't be happier at recommend enough

14 February 2019

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The whole process is quick and easy. The agents are fantastic to deal with and really helpful. I have been using Taxback.com for years now and have no intention to ever change. The level of customer services and communication is brilliant. I am always kept up to date as soon as information is available.

01 February 2019

Yeshi

Customer Service

31 January 2019

Breana Field

The personal communications from your agents made all the difference in my choice to use TaxBack. Overwhelmed with what should have been a simple process due to an error going back several years in my taxes, I gave up doing them myself and handed it over to TaxBack. I was assured all 3 years would be fixed and my refunds recieved. Once I handed over my paperwork I never had to ask about updates or remind my agent to do anything - they were so on top of it and made it so easy! Matthew Lloyd was especially helpful and I can't thank him enough for his continued clear communications and patient explanations which saved me so much time!

30 January 2019

Umidjon Otayorov

Tax Tracker service

24 January 2019

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Taxback.com has been so , so easy to use and understand . My agent Yordan Marinov was very helpful and had great patience with me as I'm not very good at doing anything like this on line .I have already told friends and family about Taxback and that they should use them .So easy and uncomplicated .

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23 January 2019

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Spot on. Very professional and efficient. Felt as if the organisation had my best interests at heart.